In mid-May, The California Association of Realtors® (CAR) released their April Sales and Price Report.(1) In short, while California home prices continue to rise, sales are down from April 2013. “With a median sale price of over $700,000 in Alameda County, affordability continues to be a problem,” noted Anian Tunney, a real estate agent broker in Piedmont, CA.

The median sale price is the price where half the number of homes sold for below that price and half for above. In Alameda County, one of the nine Bay Area counties, the median price for April 2014 was $718,580. That is almost a 9% increase from March.

According to Tunney, the increase in home prices represents a good news/bad news scenario for home buyers. The good news is that primary home buyers generally do not have to compete with investment buyers. The bad news is that increased prices and tightened lending practices make for higher borrowing costs. “Although not a surprise in California, many would-be home buyers are priced out of the market,” said Tunney. As an extreme example, one home for sale in Piedmont is 87 Sea View Avenue, offered at $5,250,000. This property is certainly out of reach for first-time home buyers; however, it is not readily accessible for current home-owners looking to step up.

Tunney hopes that CAR Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young is correct with the prediction that price increases for the remainder of 2014 will level out and that sales will increase during the popular spring/summer buying season.

About Anian Tunney, Broker Associate

Anian Tunney is an agent broker with The Grubb Company. According to statistics collected by East Bay Regional Data, Inc., she was the 2013 number one real estate agent in Piedmont, CA for the number of units sold and sales volume. Additionally, Tunney is always in the top two in yearly real estate sales for The Grubb Company’s Piedmont, office. She is known for her knowledge, experience, and network in the Piedmont community; qualities which are invaluable for finding that special home or buyers for her clients. Tunney supports the Piedmont schools in a big way.

A fifth generation Piedmont resident, Tunney has been with the Grubb Company for over 30 years. She raised her family of four in Piedmont and is active in community projects such as the Piedmont Beautification Foundation, and the East Bay Museum Auxiliary. Her grandmother, Amy Sutton, was a real estate agent, and now Anian works with her daughter Adrienne Krumins, making Piedmont Realty truly a family vocation. Tunney negotiates with grace and clarity of purpose. She can be contacted at 510-339-0400 ext 217, and at tunney(at)grubbco(dot)com. Her website is aniantunney.com.